Thread: Pair of George Sorby Razors. Any info?

Thank you Neil. Do you know when it was common to advertise crucible steel? I assumed it was early 19th century.

Originally Posted by 25609289

Thank you Neil. Do you know when it was common to advertise crucible steel? I assumed it was early 19th century.

the use of this type of steel goes back a long way - perhaps 1000 years or so, and gained fame as 'damascus' steel and 'wootz' steel, whose formulations were uncertain. There were a lot of studies into wootz, notably by Michael Faraday, who discovered (1820s) 'silver steel' (allied with real silver, not the modern silver-less variety). These were 'crucible' steels - melted in a crucible, and the process was not discovered but re-discovered by Benjamin Huntsman earlier in the 1740s (although the noted metallurgist David Mushett had anticipated its formulation, but true to form he was late in applying for a patent, settling for a patent on a wootz-type steel in 1800). Huntsman, however, was not looking for a patterned steel like damascus, but a more reliable steel for his clock springs - he was a clock-maker.

Huntsman moved his factory to Sheffield to produce the steel, but had a hard time convincing local steelmasters to use it. Some did, but a lot of the production went abroad, notably to France, where the term 'Acier Fondu' was used. At one point, almost his entire output went to France and english steel-makers were aghast at the french importing it back - so much so that they tried to ban the export of steel, but were in the end forced to buy it in order to compete.

The term 'crucible steel' (made from blister steel aka carburized wrought iron) was probably well-known by 1750. However, many of those that used it seemed to prefer to call it 'cast steel' - after all, it was melted from wrought iron in a crucible then poured or 'cast' into a mould to produce an ingot. After Huntsman's perfection of the process it gradually became the preferred steel for tool making, and even after the Bessemer process was patented in 1851 (once again the Mushett family 'lucked-out' - David's son Robert perfected the Bessemer priciple for Henry Bessemer, but Bessemer took the credit and churlishly refused to acknowledge Mushett's help for many years), crucible steel was still preferred for some applications, so items bearing this designation were still being produced at and after that date.

Regards,
Neil

Thanks again. So, these razors could have been made anytime prior to 1881. Very good, i appreciate the help.